Tobacco prevention youth summit held in Salina, KS

TOPEKA, KAN – A youth tobacco prevention summit was held in Salina on the 14th of November at the Kansas Wesleyan University. The session began with youth leaders welcoming almost120 Kansas youth ages 11 to 18 to a celebration of youth efforts to reduce tobacco use by young people in Kansas.  The keynote presentation was provided by Chad Bullock, the 20-year old winner of the 2008 Teen Choice’s “Do Something” award. He focused on engaging youth in tobacco prevention efforts across the state of Kansas by showing what he had done and what other youth can do in their own communities to keep young people grow up tobacco free.

As members of TASK, the statewide youth movement to reduce tobacco use, youth participants at the conference worked through a variety of educational activities to build awareness of the impact of tobacco use and ways to avoid becoming addicted.  The summit also featured a media showcase of youth projects that have been  funded this year through an award to Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition (TFKC) from the American Legacy Foundation’s as part of its “truth® or Consequences” grant.  The event also featured a PSA booth where the youth groups developed their own short videos that can be used to reveal the truth about tobacco use and their commitment to reduce tobacco use in their own communities. 

Teens from the TASK grants were youth facilitators for the day’s events. Youth facilitators also encouraged participants to apply for leadership positions on the state board for the TASK accepted nominations to the TASK state board at this event.

TASK is Kansas’ youth-led movement that promotes tobacco free teens and unites communities to create one strong voice speaking out for freedom from tobacco addiction.  The Legacy grant opportunity expanded youth-led efforts in Kansas to increase the numbers of Kansas youth committed to showing how tobacco is produced and marketed so that youth can make up their own minds about using any kind of tobacco product. For more information please visit kstask.org

The American Legacy Foundation (Legacy) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit.  Legacy’s truth® media campaign is the only national youth tobacco prevention advertising campaign not directed by a tobacco company.  TFKC has been one of 11 agencies from 18 states awarded a “truth® or Consequences” grant to support youth tobacco prevention efforts in Kansas. TFKC grant activities focused on establishing TASK chapters or youth groups primarily in three clusters of 27 counties in southeast, southwest and north central Kansas that currently have little or no current funding to help youth fight tobacco use. 

Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition, a statewide coalition of organizations and individuals committed to reducing the health and economic impact of tobacco use. Major goals are to prevent children from beginning a lifelong addiction to tobacco, to help those who want to quit smoking, to protect non-smokers from exposure to secondhand smoke, and to protect and assist those populations disparately affected by tobacco use.  For more information on TFKC please visit www.tobaccofreekansas.org.

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